An image sensor is an electronic device that converts light (in the form of an optical image) into electronic signals. Modern image sensors are generally semiconductor charge-coupled devices (“CCD”) or active pixel sensors fabricated using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (“CMOS”) technologies.
CMOS image sensors have become ubiquitous in many modern electronic devices. Cell phones, laptops, and cameras can all utilize CMOS image sensors as a primary method of image/light detection. Device manufacturers are striving to reduce cost and increase performance of image sensors to meet retail and commercial demand. Existing CMOS image sensor fabrication differs from standard CMOS fabrication processes, which adds additional steps, time, and cost to fabricating image sensors.